D. C. United 13832 Redskin Drive Herndon, Va. 22071 (703) 478-6600

Do you crave speed and action, love active sports? Or are you a soccer fan that believes that US soccer cannot compete with the rest of the world? I am so glad to say the United States now has a recognized Division 1 league for the worlds' greatest sport and that league is Major League Soccer (MLS). At any MLS stadium you can see talented American clubs playing this high-energy sport and having success with international competitors. The teams are comprised of America's best players and top-notch internationals. Get out to a MLS stadium (or to your TV set) and experience the thrill and atmosphere of a pulsating stadium with an American and international tapestry.

It is time again to see D. C. United, or your local team lay it out on the field for 90 minutes of contiguous play. Soccer has plenty of action requires great skill and vision. For example one of the most exciting shots in soccer is the bicycle kick. The precision and timing required to pull off this maneuver is incredible. Marcelo Balboa, of the Colorado Rapids and US National team, hit one on May 22^nd which will most likely win the year 2000 goal of the year.

Defending MLS Champion D. C. United plays the game aggressively relying on precision passing and ball control. The engine that make it all go is Marco 'El Diablo' Etcheverry. His left foot and exceptional vision can send the crowd at RFK into frenzy. Have you ever seen a goal scored from midfield? Marco had two in 1999, one against the Bahamian National team and on against the Miami Fusion (the MLS 1999 goal of the year) -- both games were D. C. United victories. Obviously no matter how good Marco is, it takes more than one player to be successful. And D. C. United does have a talented group of players which includes such stars as Eddie Pope, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen, Jeff Agoos, Raul Diaz-Arce, Chris Albright, and Richie Williams.

As has become common in for D. C. United, 1999 was a banner year which included winning the Supporters Shield and the their third MLS championship title in four years. These titles add to their bursting trophy case:

• 1996 MLS Cup Champions
• 1996 US Open Cup Champions
• 1997 MLS Cup Champions
• 1998 CONCACAF Cup Champions
• 1998 Interamerican Cup Champions
• 1999 Supporters Shield
• 1999 MLS Cup Champions

As great as it was to watch D. C. United hoist the silverware in Foxboro, the most thrilling year for this franchise was 1998. Though that year included the loss in the MLS championship final in a hard fought rugged battle. However, United clamed the first major international title for any US club by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup (the championship of the North America, Central America, and the Caribbean region) championship. That victory bought the opportunity to compete for the Interamerican Cup (the championship of the Western Hemisphere) against storied Brazilian soccer power Vasco de Gama. In two of the greatest matches ever played by any US club D. C. United, battled back to beat Vasco de Gama by an aggregate 2-1 score and claim the title of Champion of the Americas -- the second major title for a US club.

As is typical for D. C. United, the 2000 agenda is extremely ambitious. On tap for this year is defending their league championship, regaining the US Open Cup and CONCACAF titles, and an exhibition game against New Castle United of England's top league. All of this will need to be accomplished while World Cup qualifying and Olympic games are going on. This means that there are going to be games where five to six starters will be out, definitely a challenge. D. C. United has set a standard and has the tradition of thriving on challenges. Go get 'em lads!

Like many kids playing the game in the 1970's, the North American Soccer League (NASL) was an inspiration. I enjoyed going to see quality players play the game. We were fans of the Washington Diplomats and Team Hawaii -- but you still had to go to see the Cosmos and all of their stars. We would sit in RFK (or Aloha Stadium) and examine what the players were doing, how they made space, how they switched the field, how the defense rotated, and realized all the thinking that goes into the game. We would marvel at famed players as Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, and Johan Cruyff while dreaming of national team glory by inheriting the roles of American stars Kyle Rote, Jr. and Ricky Davis. Since I was a kid at that time, I did not know of a time when there was not a high quality league. The league did not make it beyond 1984. I then gravitated to enjoying the college game and lower division teams such as the Washington Stars following the teams at George Mason University and the University of Virginia and the occasional national team game.

From the late 1960's through 1984 the top soccer league in the US was the NASL, while the league brought high level soccer to the US, it did not have as a leading goal the promotion (building) of the US player or integration into US Soccer. The greatest legacy of the NASL was the inspiration it provided to the nucleus of the 1990 and 1994 US World Cup team. US stars John Harkes, Tony Meola, and Tab Ramos were big Cosmos fans (Harkes was even a ball boy at the home games. However, the league did not survive and from 1984-1996 US soccer continued as it had on several minor, regional, ethnic, and indoor soccer leagues. Then US Soccer made a bid for the 1994 World Cup, part of that bid was the assurance that a Division 1 league would be established in the US, Major League Soccer was born and began play in 1996.